By Ian Steele
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has challenged the SNP to scrap plans for a centralised care service that they say is a “bureaucratic nightmare”.
The pary said that at First Minister’s Questions, Humza Yousaf was unable or unwilling to say how much his centralised care service plans will cost.
Douglas Ross said the “shambolic” plans were “starting to look like another classic Humza Yousaf disaster”, as he referenced the First Minister’s previous failures during his time in charge of transport, justice and health.
The Scottish Conservative leader also raised indirect criticism of Humza Yousaf from his own social care minister.
SNP government minister, Maree Todd, said this week “it’s been a little bit hard for me to get my head around” the care service plans, which were drawn up by Humza Yousaf himself.
Audit Scotland previously said that the SNP Government’s estimate that the care service would cost £1.3 billion is likely to be far too low. They said: “It is likely that the overall cost of the measures will be significantly above the amounts currently assessed.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “It’s deeply embarrassing for Humza Yousaf that his own social care minister doesn’t understand the plans he drew up himself.
“These shambolic plans for a centralised care service look like a white elephant already.
“Humza Yousaf is throwing public money away when frontline social care services are in desperate need of more funding.
“The SNP Government is creating a bureaucratic nightmare – and Humza Yousaf wants a blank cheque to do it.
“The man who couldn’t get the trains to run on time, forced police officers to breaking point and left our NHS in crisis, is now doing his best to throw care services into chaos as well.
“Humza Yousaf has no idea how much this centralised care service is going to cost. Or when this bureaucratic nightmare is going to be ready. Or how it will improve the situation for people who desperately need better care.
“The last thing our struggling care service needs is an administrative overhaul costing billions of pounds when it is being starved of cash on the frontline.
“Humza Yousaf must stop wasting taxpayers’ money and scrap these unworkable plans.”
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